Turnbull, George

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Turnbull, George

TURNBULL, GEORGE. Loyalist officer. Credited as the first into Fort Montgomery on 6 October 1777, Captain Turnbull of De Lancey's Loyal American Regiment was promoted for his heroism and given command of one of the battalions. The following year he went south with the expedition of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell that captured Savannah on 29 December 1778. As part of General James Paterson's command, Turnbull—now a lieutenant colonel—participated in the Charleston expedition in 1780 and remained with the main British army while the other De Lancey battalion, commanded by J. Harris Cruger, was stationed at Ninety Six. As part of the defenses of Camden, Turnbull commanded the outpost at Rocky Mount. From here he sent out the expedition that came to grief at Williamson's Plantation on 12 July 1780, and he successfully held out in the face of Sumter's attack against Rocky Mount on 1 August 1780.

SEE ALSO Rocky Mount, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia (29 December 1778); Williamson's Plantation, South Carolina.

                      revised by Michael Bellesiles